Kindred Spirits REVISED
by TitansRule
Summary: Aiden returns to New York to find one best friend married with a daughter and the other mourning his lost love. But while Lindsay tells her their story, Jess's autopsy yields a surprising result. Story #70 in my 'Kindred Spirits'. REVISED VERSION! FA DL.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI:NY  
****Series: Kindred Spirits (obviously).  
****Spoilers: Pretty much all of Season 2, plus some parts of Season 3 (specifically **_**Not What It Looks Like**_**, **_**Love Run Cold**_**, **_**The Lying Game**_** and **_**Sleight Out Of Hand**_**).**

* * *

Chapter One

The morning winter sun peeped through the window of the New York City apartment, illuminating the tidy living room, landing first on the framed photograph that hung on the wall.

The young family welcomed the sun with smiles, their faces frozen in time, the woman tenderly cradling her week-old baby, her husband standing behind her, a hand on her shoulder, beaming at his wife and daughter.

The light crept further still, lighting the newspaper that lay on the coffee table, bearing the headline: NYPD NABS DRIVE-BY GANG.

Above the breakfast bar, a noticeboard was covered in reminders, the most recent reading 'physical therapist – 3pm' and 'need milk'. Beneath it, a bright pink post-it note bore a phone number for Samantha Flack.

Outside, the sounds of the city rumbled on, traffic, horns and indistinguishable shouts floated up through the open window, providing a backdrop to the soft lullaby that filled the apartment.

In the nursery, Lindsay Monroe-Messer laid the now three-month-old Lucy in her crib, gently kissing her forehead as she did. "Sweet dreams, baby-girl."

Lucy didn't stir, rolling over in her sleep with a soft sigh.

For a few minutes, Lindsay watched her daughter sleep, smiling softly. It was amazing how much one year had changed her life.

One year ago, she was reviewing her life, the energy she was investing in a relationship that was shaky at best.

And then one night, triggered by one of the most gruesome crime scenes she had experienced, everything had changed.

Their focus had been on comforting one another and not on the potential consequences of their actions.

When Lindsay had realised she was pregnant six weeks later, she had been afraid that it would break them. And now, here they were, a year on, happily married, with a beautiful and healthy baby girl.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud noise outside the apartment; someone was hammering on the front door.

The sound was hurried, desperate, but Lindsay couldn't help being cautious, not with Lucy in the apartment and her husband at work.

Closing the nursery door behind her, Lindsay moved to the kitchen table, where her holster hung over the back of the chair, her gun still inside.

It was very rare for her to leave her gun out like that, but her day off had come unexpectedly that morning, and she'd been almost out the door, leaving Lucy with an elderly neighbour, when she'd gotten the call.

The knocking had quietened now and Lindsay peered out through the tiny peephole, seeing an empty corridor.

_Whoever it is must be very short, or standing to one side._

_Or hurt._ Lindsay glanced down at the gun in her hand and silently cursed her paranoia – clearly someone needed help.

But then she heard a soft, unfamiliar voice on the other side of the door.

"Danny …"

The voice was low and tremulous, as thought its owner was crying. But the thing that caught Lindsay's attention was that it was female.

Clearly, they were looking for her husband, but Danny didn't have any female relatives, aside from his mother and a few aunts by marriage, but she'd met them. No sisters, no cousins.

Messers only make boys – he'd told her that while she was pregnant with Lucy.

And she knew all of his female friends, so she'd recognise their voices.

_Please, God, tell me this isn't an ex. I don't have the energy to deal with this._

Slowly – almost reluctantly – Lindsay opened the door to see a woman slumped on the ground beside the door. She looked a couple of years older than Lindsay, but her dark hair hung over her face like a curtain, hiding her features.

Transferring her gun to her left hand, Lindsay crouched down and gently touched the woman's shoulder, causing her to look up.

When the woman's face came into view, Lindsay bit back a gasp, realising that, while they'd never met, she did know her.

_Aiden. Aiden Burn._

She knew very little about the detective she had replaced, only that she and Danny had been best friends ("she was my sister," he had explained, when insisting they give Lucy Aiden as her middle name). In fact, the only time her curiosity had come close to being sated was the murder charge they finally locked DJ Pratt up for: the team had spent the case thinking they were solving Aiden's murder, going by the digital reconstruction of the skull and the clues that had been left behind. Soon after Pratt's arrest, Sid had finally gotten around to checking Aiden's dental records and the truth had been realised; the victim, although bearing a stunning resemblance to the ex-CSI, was a complete stranger and Aiden had seemingly vanished into thin air.

Now, here she was, back in New York, outside Lindsay's front door.

"Sorry." Aiden hurriedly wiped her eyes. "I was looking for someone … I went to his old apartment and … one of his neighbours mentioned this address …"

"Danny's at work." Lindsay told her, suddenly feeling very nervous. "My name's Lindsay. Lindsay Messer."

Although her eyes were still wet with tears, Aiden's face broke into a smile and she accepted the other woman's help to stand, before embracing her tightly. "You mean he finally stepped up?"

"Well, it was a little more complicated than that." Lindsay admitted. "Do you wanna come in? Danny's case will take a while, but you're welcome to wait for him."

"That'd be great, thanks." Aiden followed Lindsay into the apartment, glancing down at her gun curiously.

Lindsay followed her gaze and blushed. "You can't be too careful." She put her weapon away – in the gun-safe this time – and gestured to the kitchen table. "Do you want some coffee? You sounded upset outside."

"I'd love some." Aiden sighed. "And I'm not upset; I'm just … I'm frustrated. You know why I left?"

Lindsay frowned. "Not really. I mean, I know the Pratt case really got to you, but I never asked … it didn't matter to me and it wasn't really any of my business."

"Well, I didn't drop the Pratt case." Aiden admitted. "I know I should have done, but I couldn't! Just as I was getting close, Dad turned up, told me I was working myself into the ground and basically kidnapped me and took me to Florida for a vacation."

"He forced you to go to Miami for a bit of fun?" Lindsay gasped. "The nerve of him!"

Aiden chuckled. "Alright, fair enough. I suppose complaining about that is a bit silly. But when I got back, Pratt had vanished and the company he works for had moved to Detroit, so …"

"So you followed them." Lindsay finished. "Well, that explains a lot."

"It does?" Aiden asked. "How?"

Lindsay glanced over her shoulder, keeping one eye on the coffee machine. "Aiden, DJ Pratt didn't vanish. We arrested him. You vanished. Gave poor Danny a heart attack."

"I texted him." Aiden protested.

"He changed his number." Lindsay said, rolling her eyes. "And forgot to tell you. The point is, is …" She sighed, pulling a face. "I never realised how weird that story is."

"You never do until you have to tell it." Aiden agreed. "Why don't you start from the beginning? Then you can throw in how you and Messer hooked up while you're at it."

Lindsay handed her a mug of coffee and sat down across from her, observing her silently for a few minutes. "Okay. Well, first of all, I guess you should know that I'm the detective Mac brought in to replace you."

"Okay." Aiden waited for a second, and then her face cleared. "Wait. Were you expecting me to resent you for that?"

"No." Lindsay smiled slightly. "I've heard enough about you to know that you wouldn't. I … I resented you for it to start with though." She fell into a thoughtful silence, wondering how best to explain her reasoning.

Aiden didn't push for her to continue, letting her work things through.

Finally, Lindsay let out a shaky breath. "I grew up in Bozeman, Montana. It's quite a big town, but it's tiny, compared to New York. When I heard that Mac had requested me, personally, I knew I couldn't pass it up, but … the idea of moving all this way away from my family … it scared me."

"I bet." Aiden agreed sympathetically. "It scared _me_ and I was only moving from Brooklyn."

"Now, I know I shouldn't listen to the lab techs …" Lindsay began.

Aiden snorted. "They're the cheerleaders of the CSI lab, Lindsay; anything that comes out of their mouths outside of evidence analysis is pure crap. But go on."

"After every case I worked, I'd hear them in the locker room. 'Aiden wouldn't have done it that way'." Lindsay sighed. "It didn't matter whether I solved the case or how quickly – and I know it's stupid, but it got to me. And Danny …"

"Oh, I thought he'd come into it sooner or later." Aiden smirked. "Daniel Messer can act just like a spoilt child sometimes; what did he do to you?"

Lindsay laughed. "Well, it started my first day on the job. As soon as I arrived in New York, I was summoned to the zoo in Central Park; a dead body had been dumped in the tigers' enclosure and the scene had been somewhat contaminated. When I got there, Mac told me to hold the tiger's jaws so he could take an impression. Before I even had my gloves on, Danny was at my side.

"Just take a deep breath," he told me, "and don't let him know you're afraid, because he can sense when you're nervous." "The tiger's tranquilised," I said, "I think I can handle it." He said, "I was talking about Mac. And make sure you call him sir.""

Aiden winced. "Oh, that's low! Mac hates being called that! I think it's a Marine thing."

"Yeah, I figured that out." Lindsay sighed. "Don't get me wrong; everyone was great and really supportive, but … I always felt like the 'country girl'. Danny constantly calling me 'Montana' didn't help." She chuckled. "He still calls me that. It's more like a pet-name now though. To be honest, I just got tired of telling him to stop."

Aiden laughed. "I know that feeling."

Lindsay grinned and let herself ramble on for a while about some of the weird cases they'd had, old memories flitting in and out of her mind's eye …

… finding Danny with Adam and Hawkes, watching Tara Stanfield's sex-tape ("Footage of your 30th birthday, Messer?") …

… demonstrating how a doll-doctor had been holding one of his 'patients' too tightly for a coincidence and finishing up just holding hands in the middle of the street, until both realised what they were doing …

… being called to a crime scene in the middle of her first date in New York and feeling really irritated, until Danny caught sight of her formal attire and stood up to greet her ("Well hello, Miss Monroe. You clean up nice.") …

…meeting him at Cozy's and telling him something about Mac that he _didn't _know ("Maybe you don't know him as well as you thought") …

… making him lose a bet by eating deep-fried spiders, but winning a dinner with him in the process, however unconventional the meal had been …

… bribing him to help her with a reconstruction and ending up in his arms as he carried her across a roof-top garden ("I'm not gonna give you anything if you don't get going. Make tracks, Cowboy.") …

… Danny teasing her about the _necrophilia Americano _bugs …

… having a perfectly normal conversation with him about the merits of phone sex (it was only afterwards that she realised how weird that was) …

… meeting him at the scene of Tyrell "Superman" Mann's murder and reciting what she knew about the vic and his surprise at her football knowledge ("it's dangerous," he'd said, "I might ask you to marry me.") …

But now her voice faltered, as she remembered what came next.

Aiden sighed, recognising her hesitation. "I'm guessing something big happened."

"Yeah, we got an old homicide." Lindsay confirmed. "Someone called in, telling us where we could find a body and then shot himself. We found the body alright and there was an old cigarette butt found in the grave … when I tested it, I found Danny's DNA."

"No." Aiden shook her head. "No, Danny wouldn't …"

"I know." Lindsay said heavily. "That's why I showed Danny the results first. He took them to Mac; told us all that he'd only ever run with Tanglewood once. He'd been heading to AC with his brother, apparently, and met up with some of the boys. When Danny realised there was a kid tied up in the trunk, he told them to let him go and Louie told him to get lost." She blinked rapidly, remembering how helpless she'd felt. "We were all outside the office and he looked at me … straight at me … ignored the others … and the look in his eyes … it was like he was begging me not to give up on him. And Danny Messer does not beg."

"No, he doesn't." Aiden frowned. "So how did he get out of this mess? What happened?"

"Louie happened." Lindsay answered. "He went after Sonny Sassone wearing a wire and got a taped confession. Long story short, Danny's name was cleared and Louie ended up in hospital, brain-dead. They … They pulled the plug three months later."

"Dammit." Aiden ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "I should have been here."

Lindsay reached across the table and took her hand. "Danny took it bad, but he doesn't blame you for that. I heard very little about you actually, until …"

"Until?" Aiden prompted.

Lindsay stared at the polished wood in front of her. "It started when we found a body in a burned-out car. It couldn't belong to the car's owner – he was male and Sid said the body was definitely female. And then … Hawkes started a digital reconstruction and paged us all 911 …"

* * *

_Lindsay was the first person to reach the room set aside for the 3D reconstructions, and found Sheldon Hawkes and Stella Bonasera, both staring at a slowly rotating skull on the screen._

"_What's going on?"_

_To her surprise, the greeting she received from the usually upbeat Hawkes was hollow, empty, and Stella let out a sob, covering her mouth with one hand in a futile attempt to hold it in._

"_What's happened?" Lindsay repeated with more conviction, hurrying to Stella's side. "Stella?"_

_Almost immediately, she heard two voices echo her questions and glanced over her shoulder to see Mac Taylor enter the room with Danny._

_Hawkes, who had clearly had time to recover from whatever had caught Stella's attention, leaned over to whisper in Lindsay's ear, "Watch Messer for me, someone's got to."_

_Lindsay swallowed hard and glanced at Stella, before taking a step back, keeping one eye on her regular crime scene partner._

_Hawkes cleared his throat, catching her attention once again. "This is a scan of the victim's skull. This …" he pressed a button, giving the skull flesh and skin once more "… is a 3D reconstruction of what she would have looked like. This is the preliminary sketch I made earlier." The picture appeared on top of the skull, fitting so that it too was 3D. "And this …" a service photograph appeared transparent on top of the skull and sketch, leaving no doubt that it was the same person. "This is Detective Aiden Burn."_

_Mac let out a shaky breath and pulled Stella into his arms, letting her cry into his shirt. For a few seconds, the only sound was of her sobs. Even the hustle and bustle of the lab seemed to fade away as a blanket of silence settled upon them. Then …_

_BANG!_

_Lindsay jumped as Danny's fist hit the wall, almost cracking the plaster, before he sank to the ground, not even bothering to hide his tears. She hesitated for a second – she and Danny worked together a lot and had even hung out after work, but that was it; even when Stella had been in the hospital and she had broken down halfway through an interrogation, Danny had just squeezed her arm and told her they had to solve the case._

_Maybe that was the way he worked._

_But it wasn't her way. Tentatively, she crouched beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder, not sure if he would want her comfort – she was, after all, Aiden's replacement – but he leaned into her, prompting her to embrace him tightly, her eyes straying to the picture on the screen …_

* * *

"It wasn't how I'd imagined you." Lindsay whispered into the silent kitchen.

"Well, no, I should think you'd imagined me alive." Aiden retorted, breaking the tension in the room.

Lindsay laughed. "No. That's not what I meant. I meant that … I hadn't been told an awful lot about you and … they made you sound like Superwoman. I don't know what I expected, I guess, just someone … less human. Am I making sense?"

Aiden was silent for a minute. "No. But I understand anyway."

Lindsay shook her head. "All we really focused on was how we'd get the son of a bitch that did this. You'd … I mean, the victim ... she'd been beaten to death. We thought it was the owner of the car at first, because he reported that he'd just seen his car being stolen three hours after we found it burned out."

Aiden snorted. "When will these people learn? If you're gonna lie, at least try to make it convincing!"

"I know, right?" Lindsay agreed. "Danny walked into the precinct just as we were taking him out of interrogation. Three officers had to hold him back; it was the full alpha male thing. "Is that him? Is that the scum-bag who killed Aiden? Oh come on, Mac; just give me five minutes. I'll get him to crack." I think he could have as well." She added as an afterthought.

"Knowing Danny …" Aiden trailed off, shaking her head. "It was Pratt, right? When did you realise?"

"When we realised you'd been following him." Lindsay answered quietly. "She did look stunningly like you, Aiden; we know who she is now. He was trying to kill _you_; he started stalking another victim assuming you'd be following him. Our vic definitely noticed, went to see if the girl was okay. She … she never stood a chance." She took a sip of coffee, trying to read Aiden's expression. "She left bite-marks on the armrest and on him. That was enough."

Aiden shook her head again and buried her face in her hands, silent sobs overtaking her body. Without hesitating, Lindsay moved her chair round next to Aiden and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug and letting her crying into her shoulder.

It took Aiden several minutes to compose herself, but it was less time than Lindsay had anticipated. She loosened her grip and handed the other woman a tissue, giving her time to dry her eyes.

"I can't believe it." Aiden muttered. "All that work to stop him raping again and he went and murdered someone."

"You wouldn't have stood a chance either." Lindsay pointed out gently.

"But there'd have been a reason for me …" Aiden began.

"Everything happens for a reason." Lindsay interrupted firmly. "Danny wouldn't have coped. As it was, I got a call at 3am the night in between from a bartender."

Aiden groaned. "I'm gonna have to have a word with him about that. Come on, we've got this far."

Lindsay smiled weakly. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Aiden nodded. "Yeah. Let's hear it."

"Okay." Lindsay let out a breath. "Well … there was a huge bomb threat. One actually went off with Mac and Don still in the building …"

Aiden gasped. "Were they okay?"

"Eventually." Lindsay answered darkly. "Mac got out with a bad injury here …" she gestured to her collarbone. "But Don nearly died. If it weren't for Mac, he may well have done. It was so bad they …"

She broke off abruptly, finishing the thought in her head. _… hired a replacement._

If Aiden noticed, she didn't push for her to finish, for which Lindsay was grateful. She wasn't ready to talk about Jess.

Not yet.

"The only reason I wasn't inside was because I'd gone back to the car to get the rest of my kit." Lindsay shuddered, remembering the split-second of mind-numbing relief after the initial blast, before she sank back into terror.

"And let me guess," Aiden smirked, "Danny was the first person to notice you were injured in any way."

Lindsay blushed slightly. "It was just a small cut. But yeah. About a month later – actually, it was probably closer to two or three, because Don was back at work – well, that doesn't really matter. There was a murder at a jewellery store that seemed cut and dry until we found one of the girls dead and realised there was a diamond smuggling ring involved."

"It's never cut and dry." Aiden commented.

"Tell me about it." Lindsay sighed. "Anyway, we tracked down the guy behind the ring, only to find out that they'd kidnapped one of the other girls. The third had something like five minutes to get the diamonds back to him or they'd kill her. There wasn't time to get an undercover in, so I volunteered."

Aiden nodded understandingly. "I did the same thing, but I got found out. Stella said Danny looked like he was ready to ignore her orders and just run in."

Lindsay bit her lip. "Well, he went one better this time. He did ignore her orders and run in."

* * *

"_Who are you?"_

_Lindsay tried to keep her voice steady. "Beth."_

_The man picked up a framed picture from a desk beside him and she felt her heart quicken. If that picture was of the three girls, he would know she wasn't who she said she was._

_He slammed the picture down with such force that the glass shattered and lifted his gun so it was pointed at her face. "Try again. Who are you?"_

_Lindsay didn't answer._

"_Who are you?" He demanded._

_Without flinching, Lindsay dropped the bag in her hand and the flash-grenade went off. In the same second, she dove forward, knocking the hostage to the floor as smoke filled the room. The noise that came with it surprised her, even though she'd been prepared, making her ears ring and blocking out the sounds of the SWAT team moving in._

_But one voice was audible over even that._

"_Lindsay? Lindsay?"_

"_Danny." Lindsay staggered to her feet, knowing that the hostage – Danielle? Dana? – would be taken care of. She must have been imagining it; __Danny never used her real name. It was always Montana, which she'd hated to start with but now made her feel … safe._

_No matter what was going on in her life, Danny was constant: Montana implied fun, friendship and an unspoken bond between them._

_She had never expected him to call her name – her real name – with such worry and desperation_

_Yet here he was, his hands steadying her, staying on her arms even after she'd got her balance, one moving to cup her face, as if reassuring himself that she was alright, before pulling her into his arms._

_Lindsay buried her face into his strong chest, breathing in the scent that was just unmistakably him._

* * *

Aiden smirked at the darker stain that now covered Lindsay's cheeks. "And then he asked you out?"

"Yes." Lindsay confirmed. "And then I …" she winced. "I stood him up."

Aiden's mouth fell open. "You what?"

"I stood him up." Lindsay repeated in a heavy voice. "That afternoon, I got a phone call from back home …" She sighed, cradling her mug of coffee, taking comfort in the warmth it provided. "When I was fourteen, I was in a diner with my best friends. Apart from the waitress, we were the only people in there. They'd technically closed about twenty minutes ago, but we just kept talking. And then I … I went to the restroom to wash my hands. And … while I was in there, a man came in with a gun and … I was the only witness … the only survivor. I thought I left it all behind when I moved, but it all came flooding back and …" She shook her head. "It was the Bozeman Prosecutor's office, saying they'd arrested someone but they needed me to come back to testify."

"Danny would have understood." Aiden told her softly.

"Yeah, he would." Lindsay agreed. "But I couldn't … I couldn't begin a relationship while I was so focused on what happened back then; it wouldn't have been fair. I just needed some space. I didn't mean to stand him up; I just … I got that call and …"

"You went into shock." Aiden finished softly.

Lindsay nodded, taking a shaky breath. "So I told Danny that I just needed to work some things through and he told me to take all the time I needed."

"That's Danny." Aiden agreed.

"Yeah." Lindsay smiled fondly. "And we …" She was cut off abruptly by the shrill sound of the phone ringing, which was swiftly followed by a cry coming from the nursery. "Dammit. Only noise she won't sleep through. Could you …?"

"Sure." Aiden jumped to her feet and followed Lindsay's gesture into the other room.

Lindsay grabbed the phone. "Monroe."

"_Lindsay, it's me." _Sid Hammerback's voice told her. _"I need you in autopsy right now. It's important. Don't let anyone know you're here."_

For a split-second, Lindsay froze. Her first thought was that Flack had finally done something stupid and her eyes drifted to her lock-box, reassuring herself that both of his weapons were safely locked away with her.

_Calm down. _She told herself. _Mac or Danny would be calling if it was that bad. Don's probably wasted or something and Sid doesn't want it on record, which is why he's not calling someone on duty._

"Alright." Lindsay said, managing to keep her voice measured. "See you in a few." She hung up and headed into the nursery, stopping in the doorway with a smile.

Aiden had managed to soothe Lucy and was now chatting to her quietly, occasionally making her giggle. "She's beautiful."

Lindsay started, unaware that Aiden had noticed her. "Thank you. Her name's Lucy, by the way. Lucy Aiden Messer."

Aiden looked up sharply. "Really?"

"Would I joke?" Lindsay asked in response. "Her middle name was the only part we agreed on. I wanted Lydia, but there you go." She sighed wearily. "That was Dr Hammerback, says he needs me in autopsy. Normally, I'd take Lucy in with me, but I never like taking her into the morgue and something tells me this needs to be kept quiet, or he'd have called someone on duty. I don't suppose you'd mind watching her until I get back? I won't be very long."

Aiden looked down at the baby. "Well, I've never been much of a baby person, but I think we can work something out, can't we Lucy?"

"She hardly ever cries, unless she's scared." Lindsay told her, grabbing her coat, badge and gun out of habit. "And there are bottles of milk in the fridge and diapers under the sink. But I changed her before I put her down, so you shouldn't need them." She kissed Lucy's forehead. "Be good for Auntie Aiden, sweetheart."

Aiden smiled as the door closed. Lindsay really did remind her of herself. "Well then, Lucy. Looks like it's just you and me for a while."

_Auntie Aiden. I like the sound of that._

* * *

The crime lab was on the 34th floor of a high-rise building in Manhattan, which made getting in unnoticed a difficult task. Luckily for Lindsay, the building had its own parking garage, which meant she was able to take the goods elevator and convince the lone security guard – with a reassuring flash of her badge – to pretend he hadn't seen her.

"Alright, I'm here." Lindsay announced, closing the morgue door behind her. "What's going on?"

"Over here." Sid beckoned her closer and she joined him next to one of the drawers. Her heart dropped when she saw the name on the card.

_Detective Jessica Angell_

Lindsay had accompanied Jessica's body back to the morgue and had waited with Sid, both of them delaying the inevitable until Danny arrived back and informed them that all five men involved in the shooting had been killed resisting arrest.

The news had provided a dash of relief in an otherwise miserable day: Jess hated the idea of autopsies and had long-since extracted a promise from Lindsay that she wouldn't let it happen, if something were to happen to the homicide detective.

With all five dead, an autopsy was no longer required by law, which meant Jess could be laid to rest with her dignity still in tact.

Unfortunately, Jessica's parents had pushed for an autopsy anyway, something that Lindsay failed to understand and had tried, in vain, to talk them out of.

It had been a month now, and Sid had yet to begin, delayed by the more necessary exams and his own reluctance to cut into the young woman he thought of as one of his surrogate daughters.

Lindsay knew the only reason he hadn't handed her case over to another ME was that he too knew of Jess's feelings about the whole process.

She took another look around the lab, now almost hoping that Don was there, but they were the only two present in the silent, grey room.

"Sid," she began in a shaky voice, "I can't …"

"Now just a minute, Mrs. Messer," Sid interrupted, replacing his glasses on his nose. "I promise I didn't bring you here to watch the autopsy." He unlocked the drawer and pulled it out, revealing Jessica lying under a sheet, looking as peaceful as though she were asleep.

Lindsay couldn't help reaching out and brushing a strand of her dark hair away from her eyes, feeling a tear slip down her cheek. But this action caused her to frown out of confusion, rather than sadness. "Something's not right."

"Exactly." Sid agreed. "Look." He pulled the sheet down ever so slightly, just enough to reveal the gunshot wound on her shoulder.

But the wound – although repaired by the surgeons at the hospital before her injuries had proved fatal – wasn't as bad as Lindsay had remembered it. In fact, new skin had started to cover the stitches.

"Sid, does that usually happen?" Lindsay asked, poking it gently.

"No." Sid shook his head. "There's also the fact that she's far too warm for someone who's spent the last month in a freezer. That was what first caught my attention."

"Have you checked the generators?" Lindsay asked, focusing first on the explainable.

Sid shook his head. "They're fine. All the other bodies are the right temperature. And there's nothing different about this drawer."

"Warm, but dry." Lindsay commented, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Or rather, cool but dry. Nothing could come out of those freezers warm. If I didn't know better, I'd say she was dehydrated. But that's not possible, is it?"

"I don't know." Sid admitted. "I can't find an explanation anywhere. That's why I called you in. I wasn't sure if I've just been dealing with the dead too long that I'm missing the obvious."

Lindsay shook her head. "I can't think of anything. I've never heard of this. Why not Sheldon?"

"I didn't really want to call someone on duty." Sid confessed. "I don't want it getting back to Detective Flack."

"That's not gonna happen." Lindsay told him. "Don's still on compassionate leave. I've got both his weapons; he can't come back to work yet."

"That bad, huh?" Sid frowned.

Lindsay sighed. "Worse. I don't think he can go on for much longer, Sid. Between him and Danny, I feel like …" She trailed off.

As they had been talking, she had moved her hand from Jess's forehead to her neck, almost automatically, remembering how her mother had done that when she was sick.

She had never quite figured out how someone could better gauge a temperature from the neck than the forehead, but it had always seemed to work for Dana Monroe.

But Lindsay's unconscious movement had rendered a different result. It wasn't that Jess's neck was any cooler or warmer than the rest of her body, but something caught Lindsay's attention, something that caused her to move her hand to check for something else.

"Lindsay?" Sid prompted.

Lindsay looked up. "Sid, have you checked her pulse?"

Sid chuckled. "Lindsay, of all the questions … why would I do that?"

"Humour me." Lindsay requested. "I think I'm going crazy."

Shaking his head, Sid felt Jess's wrist.

Then her neck.

Then he placed a hand on her chest and bent down to listen at her mouth.

Finally, he looked up, staring at Lindsay. "You're not crazy."

Lindsay lifted a hand to stifle her sob, but it still echoed around the empty room. Somehow, miraculously, Jessica Angell was alive.

* * *

**AN: Yes, I am still alive. Got bogged down under university work and Harry Potter fanfiction (you're free to tell me that's no excuse). This story isn't going to change that much, but I wanted to revise it, simply because my brain knows I can do better, and hopefully, it'll spur me into continuing with the series. Plus this chapter is roughly 1500 words longer than it was last time – that's almost the length of the essay I'm supposed to be writing.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: See Chapter One.  
****Series: Kindred Spirits.  
****Spoilers: Season 1 (**_**The Fall**_**), Season 3 (**_**Silent Night**_**, **_**Sleight Out of Hand**_**, **_**Snow Day**_**), Season 4 (**_**Child's Play**_**, **_**DOA For A Day**_**, **_**Right Next Door**_**, **_**Personal Foul**_**)**

* * *

Chapter Two

A few minutes later, Sid and Lindsay were still staring at Jess in silence.

The clock Sid kept on the wall chimed on the hour and it seemed to shake them from their reverie.

"Lindsay, in the unit by my desk in the office, there should be some saline solution." Sid told her, hurrying to another of the units.

"Right." Lindsay forced movement back into her legs and stumbled into the inner office, finding the small bottle neatly labelled.

When she returned, Sid had inserted a drip tube into Jess's arm and emptied the bottle into the clear bag. "Hold this."

Lindsay took it, her eyes fixed on Jess. "Will she be alright?"

"She should be." Sid answered, gently peeling back one of the detective's eyelids and shining a light into her face. "Slow reaction, but that's normal in a comatose state."

"But … she had no feeding tube." Lindsay protested. "No oxygen."

"No, the drawers are ventilated to prevent decomposition." Sid explained. "In a comatose state, the body shuts down. It doesn't need as much oxygen or nutrition, although it will start drawing on the body's natural reserves, which is why Jessica seems so thin at the moment."

Lindsay looked again at her best friend, a little closer this time, and realised that Sid was right. "And why didn't the hospital notice?"

"Ah, there's the question, isn't it?" Sid asked lightly. "When you and Detective Flack entered her room to say goodbye, was the monitor on or off?"

Lindsay frowned, thinking back. "Off, I think. At least, I couldn't hear the long beep you associate with that situation."

"A person only dies, Lindsay, when both their body and their brain have shut down." Sid explained. "The heart stopping simply means that oxygenated blood is not being pumped around the body. CPR continues that process, which is how she survived for the twenty minutes they attempted to resuscitate her."

"But they failed." Lindsay frowned.

"They did." Sid agreed. "They failed to restart her heart. However, once they pronounced her dead and gave up, the brain had around five minutes before it too shut down."

"And at some point in that five minutes, her heart restarted on its own." Lindsay finished. "But because they turned the monitor off, no one noticed."

"Exactly." Sid confirmed. "One has to ask how that happened though; hospital protocol is to leave the monitor running for at least ten minutes in case something like this happens. The question is, Lindsay, what do we do now?"

_What do we do now? You're absolutely right, that is the question._

The sound of the door opening and closing cut through Lindsay's racing thoughts and she looked up sharply to see Adam Ross.

An idea flashing into her mind, she waved him over. "Adam, get over here."

Recognising the determined note in her voice, Adam complied, faltering slightly when his gaze landed on Jess. "I … where's Lucy?"

Lindsay bit back a smile. Adam – rather like a little kid – had been almost scared to go near Lucy for the first week, until Lindsay and Danny had both decided enough was enough and dumped her into his arms. His initial protests had faded almost instantly and he was now her favourite person.

After her parents, godfather and unofficial godmother, of course.

"She's with someone, don't worry." Lindsay put a hand on her shoulder. "Angell's alive. We need to do something."

"A hospital?" Adam suggested blankly.

Lindsay bit her lip. Admittedly, that had been her first thought, but she didn't want to resort to that. "Can they do anything for her?"

"Nothing we can't do ourselves." Sid answered. "They would give her an IV, just like this one. She clearly doesn't need a ventilator."

"So anything they'd do, we could do." Lindsay concluded. "I really don't want to take her to a hospital, she hates them. Plus, you saw the media sensation Dunbrook caused; we take her to a hospital and the press will find out before her family. And, to be honest, I don't really want to tell Flack she's alive only to lose her again."

"That bad?" Adam asked knowingly, echoing Sid's earlier question.

"Worse." Lindsay corrected darkly. "So do you think we could move her to our apartment? She can stay in our spare room until she wakes up."

"That would work." Sid assured her. "Alright, we'll take the back elevator. Lindsay, my car keys are on my desk, I need you to open doors. Adam, you take the drip bag, hold it up … that's it." He sat Jessica up carefully – while Adam averted his eyes – and Lindsay tied the back of the sheet so it stayed wrapped around her.

"It's a good job the weather's so miserable." Lindsay commented. "No one goes out when it's like this."

With Sid carrying Jess and Adam holding the saline bag, Lindsay led the way through the maze of corridors, stopping only to take the elevator down to the parking lot.

The only person they met was the guard from earlier, but Lindsay took him aside and explained the situation to him in a low voice, begging him not to tell anyone just yet.

He agreed and they continued, Lindsay sticking her head into the underground lot to check, before making her way to Sid's car. "Adam, how'd you get in today?"

"Took the subway." Adam answered. "Why?"

Without answering, Lindsay slid into the back seat of Sid's car and helped them get Jess in, so her head was resting on Lindsay's lap. She took the bag from Adam and passed him her keys. "Take my car. Call Mac and tell him you're taking lunch. Meet us round the back of my building."

"Got it." Adam nodded.

Sid got into the driver's seat and they started off. As they emerged into sunlight again, Lindsay realised there could be a flaw in the plan and pulled her cell-phone out, calling her home number.

"_Messer residence."_

"Aiden, it's Lindsay. Has Flack been by at all?"

"_Don Flack?" _Aiden asked. _"No, why?"_

"It's a long story." Lindsay sighed. "But if he stops by, I need you to get rid of him, no matter how much of a mess he is. Take him and Lucy to the park or something."

"_Okay. Is everything alright?"_

"Everything's fine." Lindsay assured her. "It's just important that Don's not there when I get back, alright?"

"_Alright, I'll do my best. See you in a minute."_

"Aiden?" Sid questioned, after Lindsay hung up. "She's back in New York?"

"Yeah, she called by this morning wanting to see Danny." Lindsay put her phone away. "In here."

Sid parked where Lindsay indicated and she helped him lift Jess out of the car, before getting out herself. Within a few minutes, Adam pulled in beside them and jumped out. "Now what? Danny was with Mac when I called; asked me to check in on you and Lucy …"

Lindsay rolled her eyes at her husband's predictability. "Good. Gives you an excuse to be here. Right, I need you to go round the front and take the stairs, make sure Flack hasn't turned up. Alright?"

"Got it." Adam nodded, jogging in the direction she'd indicated.

"Better wait a few minutes." Sid said. "Just in case Don is here."

* * *

Lucy had woken again, this time without crying, just looking up at her babysitter with wide, interested eyes.

"Well, hello, Miss Lucy." Aiden greeted, lifting her from the crib. "Have a nice nap?"

Unused to dealing with young children, she hadn't felt comfortable leaving the nursery while Lucy slept, but now she wandered back into the living room.

It was quite a big apartment for Manhattan. The main living area, Aiden guessed, had originally been intended to be an entrance hall of some kind, but the wall between that and the kitchen had been knocked through to make one room, allowing the landlord – or whoever occupied it – to furnish the intended living room as a third bedroom.

Above the mantle was a large framed photograph, obviously professionally taken, and Aiden carried Lucy over to look at it, smiling at the family it portrayed – Danny was her brother in all but blood and it had always pained her to watch him bounce from girl to girl so easily.

It was good to finally see him with someone.

The knock at the door was unexpected and made her jump slightly. _Surely Lindsay has a key to her own apartment … Unless that's Flack._

She wasn't sure if she wanted to see Don or not. She had once been nearly as close to Don as she was to Danny, and something about Lindsay's warning filled her veins with ice. Had something happened to one of his parents? Or, God forbid, his sister?

Aiden knew Don's relationship with Samantha was shaky at best – at least, it had been the last time they talked – but she also knew that was only because he loved his sister too much to be able to watch her self-destruct up close.

Still, she'd promised Lindsay she'd keep Flack out the way, so she made her way to the door and opened it.

It wasn't Don Flack who stood outside, however, but a man who was about her height, though looked at least a year younger than her.

"Hi." He greeted breathlessly. "Is Flack here?"

"No." Aiden answered, relaxing only slightly. If Lindsay had felt the need to send ahead a scout, it must be serious.

"Good. Hey, Lucy-Lu!" He grinned, as the baby in Aiden's arms reached out to him in recognition.

Despite this, Aiden kept a tight hold on her, even as he held out a finger for Lucy to grab. "I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?"

"Oh, sorry." He grinned sheepishly, offering her his other hand to shake. "I'm Adam. Adam Ross – I work with Danny and Lindsay at the lab."

Aiden shook his hand. "Aiden Burn. You're a CSI?"

"Lab tech." Adam corrected. "But I do field-work as well; Mac tends to drag me out every now and then for some reason."

Aiden hid a smile, knowing that Mac had obviously seen something promising in Adam and was prepping him for a CSI exam. "So what's going on?" She asked tentatively, giving in to Lucy's urging and handing the child over.

"Well …" Adam grimaced. "It's a long story. You never met Detective Angell, did you?"

"No …" Aiden answered slowly. "At least, I don't think I did."

"Well, she was Flack's partner." Adam told her. "She was shot and killed a month ago."

Aiden closed her eyes, feeling a stab of pain shoot through her in sympathy. Don had only ever had one 'partner' when she knew him, and that was his training partner, Gavin Moran, who turned out to be dirty.

She and Danny had had a hell of a time sorting out that mess and Flack had sworn that, from then on, he worked solo.

If he had accepted another partner, Angell must have been a good cop and – more importantly – he must have trusted and liked her.

Don Flack never did things by halves, as was evident by his 'adoption' of the crime lab team as part of his family; once he let someone in, they were in for life – it took a lot to make Don turn his back on someone.

"Oh God …" She whispered. "How's he taking it?"

"Well, not too well." Adam admitted. "He's on compassionate leave at the moment …"

"Damn." Aiden muttered. "I've never known Don to willingly miss work for _anything_."

"Yeah, well, Dr Hammerback finally got round to her autopsy today …" Adam told her quietly.

"After a month?" Aiden questioned.

Adam nodded. "I don't really know all the details." He cast a careful look down the hallway and Aiden leaned out as well, finding it empty. "Point is, she's alive."

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "How'd they miss that?"

Adam shrugged. "She crashed in ICU and … we're not really sure. Lindsay doesn't want us to tell Flack in case we lose her again though, which is why we're trying to avoid him."

"But they're bringing her here instead of taking her to a hospital." Aiden asked slowly.

"Sid says that there's nothing a hospital can do that we can't." Adam told her. He took another careful look around and his face cleared. "There you are!"

"No sign of him?" Lindsay's voice asked.

"Nothing." Adam assured her.

Aiden stepped back to let Adam pass her and he was swiftly followed by Sid, carrying a dark-haired woman about her age wrapped in a white sheet, and Lindsay, who was carrying a drip-bag.

"Hey Sid." Aiden greeted.

"Miss Burn, I was wondering when you'd grace us with your presence once again." The coroner smiled.

"I'll take that as a 'welcome home'." Aiden commented.

"I would." Lindsay advised, opening the door to the spare room.

Sid laid the woman on the bed and helped Lindsay fix the drip to one of the bedposts, before turning to embrace Aiden in welcome.

"How long before she wakes up?" Lindsay asked, settling a blanket over her as well.

Sid sighed. "Well, now she's out of a freezer, her body should start reacclimatising, so it depends entirely on whether she was in a coma before she came to me."

Lindsay frowned. "I don't get it."

But Aiden did. "Adam said she crashed in ICU?"

Lindsay nodded. "That's right. They pronounced her dead and then unhooked the heart monitor. Why?"

"Well, the coma could have been a result of her body shutting down in a morgue freezer to conserve energy, which would mean that it won't take as long for her to wake up." Aiden explained. "Or she could have slipped into a coma in the ICU as a result of her injuries. If that's the case, it'll take longer for her to wake up, because she hasn't been receiving treatment."

"The fact that her heart restarted on its own makes me think that the first is more likely." Sid added. "It's unlikely that happened without any outside stimuli."

"But they'd stopped CPR." Lindsay pointed out.

"I meant emotional stimuli." Sid told her. "You and Detective Flack were in there very soon after they gave up. It's possible – maybe even probable – that something you said or did triggered her heart to restart."

Lindsay smiled slightly. "I doubt it was _me_. Right, come on; you two need to get back to work; I'll get her into something more appropriate later." She ushered them all out of the spare room and shut the door gently.

"Oh, and Danny also asked me to tell you that the case is going badly and he's going to be home later than he said he would." Adam told Lindsay.

"I know." Lindsay smiled, taking a large box out of the fridge. "Here. There should be enough sandwiches in there for everyone."

"You're an angel, Lindsay." Adam said sincerely, handing Lucy to Sid so he could take the box. "How'd you know someone would come by?"

"Same way I knew Danny would be late home." Lindsay answered. "He's predictable."

Aiden snickered. "Thank you!"

"Will you inform her parents?" Sid asked, returning her daughter. "Or would you like me to do it?"

"I'll do it." Lindsay told him. "I'm sure the quiet won't last long."

As though proving her point, Sid's pager went off and he glanced at it. "Quite right, Mrs Messer; I have a suspected suicide victim to see to." He clapped Adam on the shoulder. "Come on, young man."

"Nice meeting you, Aiden. See you later, Linds."

"Same here."

"Bye."

The door closed behind the two men and Lindsay deposited Lucy onto a play-mat. "You don't need a place to stay, do you? I was going to offer you the spare room, but we just got an unexpected house-guest."

Aiden chuckled. "I don't think you can call her unexpected if you invited her. No, I'm fine. I bought my apartment, not rented it, so it's still mine."

"Oh good." Lindsay sighed in relief. "Because our couch isn't very comfortable."

"How else would you keep Danny in line?" Aiden asked straight-faced, as she put on another pot of coffee.

Lindsay laughed, tapping one of the toys dangling above Lucy to get her daughter's attention. "True. Very true." She watched her daughter bat at the toys for a second. "Where was I?"

"In your story?" Aiden thought for a second. "Danny gave you space. Then you got a phone call and there's now a woman in a coma in your spare room."

"Right." Lindsay nodded, making a mental note to call Jess's parents later. "As the trial got closer, I started having flashbacks – I'd always had them, but they began to get more vivid and more frequent. It got to the point when every gunshot victim, every young girl, every weeping mother … they all took me back to Montana."

"Did you tell anyone?" Aiden asked curiously, handing her a mug.

"Thanks." Lindsay took a sip. "No. Well, I had to explain a bit to Stella, because I just freaked out one day, but I didn't want to be treated differently … Back home, I could see that look with every case that came in – the 'can she handle this' look."

Aiden nodded understandingly. She'd dealt with it herself every time a stabbing victim had come in for two months after she was stabbed in the first week of the job. (Though not one of her favourite memories, it was responsible for the closeness between her and Danny, so she had to thank the idiot with the knife.)

"Eventually, I couldn't run away anymore. They wanted me back in Montana for the whole trial, for some reason, not just my testimony. It was hell …" Lindsay sighed heavily. "That … He just smirked through the entire thing. Like he knew he'd already won. And all I wanted to do was smack that damn smile off his face, but … I couldn't … We had to adjourn court halfway through my testimony, I just couldn't finish. I'd tried not to think about it for so long and now I had to relive it … and of course their parents were there, desperate for some kind of answer …" She broke off, closing her eyes in a transparent attempt to keep the tears from falling once again. "Then, on the second day …"

* * *

"_I remember being scared that whoever was out there would hear it." Lindsay's voice faltered once more and, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Daniel Cadens smirk at her._

_Her mouth dried in fear. What if he didn't get convicted? What if he came after her? What if he found her? What then?_

_Her thoughts were interrupted by the courtroom door opening quietly. Automatically, she glanced over and her heart jumped a little._

_Detective Danny Messer was standing in front of the newly-closed door, gazing at her with a mixture of pride and adoration._

* * *

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding."

Lindsay didn't blame her for the reaction. "Yeah, apparently Mac saying "Go home and get some sleep" translates into "Go home and catch a flight to Montana"."

Aiden laughed along with her, the last of the haunted expression that had overtaken her at the news about Pratt vanishing in an instant. "That's my boy! Did he help?"

"More than he probably should have." Lindsay admitted. "For the first time, I looked that … that monster in the eye and I told him I knew he did it."

Aiden smiled. "And did they …?"

"Four consecutive life sentences." Lindsay confirmed. "And then I had to deal with Danny after he hadn't slept for a week."

Aiden grimaced. "I don't envy you. He pulled a couple shifts like that when I was here – I had to carry him home."

Lindsay shrugged. "Well, I got the cabbie to give me a hand. When we were in the court room, I felt sure that … that he'd kiss me or say … something … I don't know what I was expecting. Whatever it was, it didn't happen. We got back from New York and everything went back to normal, then …" She felt her face heat as a blush overtook her features. "He invited me round for dinner. We had a few drinks, played some pool and then …"

* * *

"_There's no way you're gonna get this shot too, Montana." Danny stated as she lined up for it._

_Lindsay smirked. "A Benjamin says I do."_

_Danny laughed. "You're on!"_

_Seconds later, Lindsay straightened up, the ball falling into the hole with a soft thud. "You owe me $100."_

"_Er … you know what?" Danny coughed. "You're … you're gonna have to wait till payday."_

"_No." Lindsay shook her head. "You either pay me now … or you come up with something better."_

_Belatedly, she realised that the distance between them had closed considerably and Danny didn't hesitate to close the gap between them. A cloud of bliss enveloped her mind as she tugged his shirt over his head, leaving behind only the question as to why this hadn't happened earlier…_

_Lindsay awoke the next morning, his arm still firmly around her waist, as if reluctant to release her. She moved her head slightly so it was resting on his chest instead of his shoulder and let herself drift off to sleep again. After what felt like only a few seconds, she felt him poke her nose softly, causing her eyes to flutter open and a smile to creep across her face. "Hey. What time is it?"_

"_Early." He murmured._

"_Mmm." Lindsay stretched sleepily and snuggled closer to him. "I have to be at work at nine. You're lucky; you got a later shift."_

"_Well, go back to sleep." Danny told her. "I'll wake you up."_

_Lindsay hesitated for a second, then decided to feel out what exactly happened last night. "I dreamt that … I woke up and you were gone … you left a note."_

"_Where would I go?" Danny responded. "This is my place."_

_For a second, her heart constricted, but then she heard the underlying humour in his voice and tilted her head back to meet his eyes. "I was hoping for a better answer."_

_The grin on his face softened. "I'm just kidding. I'm glad this happened." He pressed a kiss to her forehead in a tender gesture that surprised her, even after last night._

_She smiled and kissed his chest, the closest part of him that she could reach without lifting her head. "Me too." Then she drifted back into a blissful sleep, lulled by his fingers rhythmically running through her hair._

* * *

"When I woke up, he'd taken my shift …" Lindsay finished, shaking her head.

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Wow. That was uncharacteristically sweet of him. Danny _hates_ early mornings."

"Well, I wish he hadn't." Lindsay admitted. "That morning, Flack led a drug bust that ended up with 900 kg of coke being seized from an Irish gang. When Danny reached the crime scene to help Adam process, he ended up in a hostage situation."

"Was he okay?" Aiden asked quietly.

"Couple of broken fingers, cracked rib and a lot of bruising." Lindsay frowned. "I just wish he hadn't taken my shift."

Aiden smiled knowingly. "Did you tell him that?"

"Yeah," Lindsay smiled as well. "He told me that he'd go through it a hundred times more if it meant I was safe."

"And you started dating." Aiden concluded. She had predicted years ago that love would change Danny, but she could never have predicted that it would happen like this. That mind set was just so … Danny, and yet when she was last in New York, he'd have had trouble admitting it to _her_, let alone a woman he had only just hooked up with.

She couldn't wait to see Danny again, to see how great a change it was. "So how did he propose?"

To her surprise, Lindsay's smile faltered. "Well … it was a little more complicated than that …"

"Complicated how?" Aiden prompted softly.

"We'd been together about five months …" Lindsay faltered slightly. "Ruben Sandoval was killed by a stray bullet."

"I know that name." Aiden closed her eyes for a second, before they flew open. "Not that sweet boy who lived down the hall from Danny? That must have …"

"It did." Lindsay said heavily. "Danny had taken him to get his bike blessed that morning; Ruben rode ahead, went round the corner. A guy robbed a bodega and beat up the owner and the vic's sister pulled out a gun and fired after him as he ran away. The bullet hit Ruben …" She paused to take a sip of coffee, her voice shaking. "Neither of them realised – I guess the adrenaline kept Ruben from feeling anything. Danny told him to go straight home because the woman was hysterical … Ruben got round the corner, came off his bike and …"

"No …" Aiden whispered. She'd only met Ruben a few times, but he was one of those genuinely innocent kids who you couldn't help but like.

"Danny blamed himself." Lindsay stated flatly.

"Of course he did …" Aiden groaned, running a hand through her hair. "When is he going to learn? He pushed you away, didn't he?"

"Actually, it was a bit worse than that." Lindsay stood suddenly. "We should get Jess into something more comfortable than a sheet."

Worried, Aiden followed her, not pushing for an explanation. She leaned against the doorway while Lindsay rooted in drawers, pulling out underwear, sweat pants and an old NYPD hoodie.

While Lindsay organised her thoughts, Aiden observed the unconscious woman on the bed. She was a very pretty woman – the kind Aiden would love to hate, except she got the feeling from the way Lindsay, Adam and Sid had spoken about her that Detective Angell would be difficult to dislike.

She frowned slightly, remembering the way Lindsay had implied that it was probably Don who caused her heart to restart. _Why? What does Don have that Lindsay doesn't?_

She was about to ask, when Lindsay started talking again.

"I knew something was wrong when he forgot my birthday."

Aiden breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, that's not weird – Danny's terrible with dates, always has been. One year, he forgot his own birthday."

"I know." Lindsay attempted a smile, but it was weak. "And if he'd acknowledged that, I wouldn't have thought any more about it. But even when he realised, he didn't say anything. I know he was dealing with a lot but …"

"It hurt." Aiden finished understandingly. "I get it."

"After a week or so, I realised I was being ridiculous." Lindsay swallowed as her voice began to shake. "So I went over, after my shift, so I could apologise for making such a big deal about it and … before I could knock … the walls are pretty thin … I could hear him … with another woman …"

Aiden sucked in her breath. There were many things that one could say about Danny Messer, but disloyal had never been one of them.

Until now.

"Want me to kill him for you?" She asked grimly.

To her surprise, Lindsay chuckled. "No. I think Don hit him once or twice, but neither would verify that."

"Good." Aiden muttered. At least that meant that Danny knew he'd messed up.

"Besides, I knew why." Lindsay sighed. "It was Ruben's mother – she wanted comfort, Danny still blamed himself, he felt too guilty to push her away …"

"Doesn't make it right." Aiden shook her head. "Tell me he told you?"

"No. He just kept pushing me away." Lindsay brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Making it sound like it was my fault. Then one evening, I went for a rain-walk – it's a Montana thing … my phone rang … he asked me to come over … I told him I had to go, but …"

* * *

_People rushing past her were staring at her; she must have looked ridiculous, walking in the pouring rain with nothing more than a thin hoody and no umbrella, but the subway was closed and she wasn't stupid enough to get a taxi after everything that had happened._

_Somehow she found herself standing outside Danny's apartment building and made a split-second decision. Before she had a chance to buzz him, one of his neighbours came out and held the door for her with a smile. She thanked him and made her way up the stairs to Danny's apartment, knocking on the door before she had time to talk herself out of it._

_The door opened, she met his eyes, seeing the evident surprise, and hurt shot through her. Of course his invitation had been empty. She mumbled an apology and turned to leave, but he caught her arm._

"_No! Lindsay, we need to talk."_

_She flinched at the use of her real name, but followed him inside and joined him on the couch._

"_Lindsay…"_

"_Montana." Lindsay corrected. "You've always called me that, Danny; it doesn't feel right when you don't."_

_The smile he gave her could have melted a heart of ice. "Montana, I'm sorry. For everything. But before I apologise for everything you know about, I gotta tell you…"_

"_I know." Lindsay interrupted. "About you and Rikki. I know."_

_Danny gaped at her for a few seconds. "Montana … I never meant to hurt you…"_

"_I know." Lindsay repeated. "Believe me, Danny, I know. I did the same thing back in Montana after … they died. I just wish you could have come to me. I would've understood."_

_Danny sighed. "Believe me, Montana, if I could turn back time, I would. But I meant what I said. I miss you. And … I didn't forget your birthday. I mean, I did, but only on that day. Wait there."_

_Lindsay closed her mouth, biting back the argument that he had forgotten, and he disappeared into his bedroom, reappearing with a small box. "Happy Birthday."_

_Lindsay rolled her eyes, deciding not to mention that he was a good few months overdue, because she knew he knew already. Opening the box, she glanced up at him, puzzled, at the sight of a note._

"_Go on." Danny prompted._

_Lindsay pulled the note out and read it aloud. "Montana, I was going to get you one of those stereotypical birthday gifts, but I remember you telling me that you always found those predictable and meaningless. So I decided to do this instead. Knowing me, I'll have forgotten this on your birthday, but it'll wind up on your desk at some point; better late than never, right? Just ask to see my right arm next time you see me. Happy Birthday. Danny." She looked up again. "Right arm?"_

"_Lindsay, how many tattoos do I have?" Danny asked in response._

"_Two." Lindsay answered without hesitation. "One on your chest; one on your arm. Your left arm." She remembered the first time she'd noticed them._

_On his chest, an angel inscribed with two dates and, as they lay in bed together, she had asked about it; he had told her it was his maternal grandmother and her dates of birth and death._

_On his arm, there was a circlet of thorns. She had traced a circle round it with her finger and asked about it; he had stiffened and told her it was a story for another time._

_As if reading her mind, Danny rolled up his left sleeve, revealing it. "It was the Tanglewood symbol but without the name. I got it when I was a kid, when I wanted to be just like Louie; couldn't wait to get the real one. I never got it removed, because it reminds me of the mistake I nearly made. My past will always be a part of me, Montana, and that reminds me of that. But my future is more important. And you know I'm right handed." He switched to his other arm, rolling the sleeve up to reveal the inked words: My Montana._

_Lindsay stared at it for a few seconds. "That may be the most amazing thing any guy has ever done for me."_

"_I've been a prick." Danny stated firmly. "I know I have. I've never been able to deal with commitment and … I couldn't deal with both things at the same time. But the guy who did this made a pretty astute observation."_

"_Astute?" Lindsay repeated. "Alright. And what was that?"_

"_That I must really care about you." Danny told her. "And I told him that I did; that you're the most important person in my life. And I realised something. I realised … I love you. I love you so damn much, Lindsay, and yes I'm using your real name for this. I completely understand if you never want to see me again … although we work together so that'll be difficult … I've done nothing but hurt you and I'm sorry; it was the last thing I wanted to do…"_

"_Danny." Lindsay sighed, cupping his face. "Shut up. I told you that I've fallen in love with you and I meant that. But I also told you that I wanted to let that go. I never want that. So if this is going to happen, I need to know. Is this it?"_

_Danny pressed a kiss to her lips. "This is it, Montana. I promise."_

* * *

Aiden smiled in satisfaction. _That_ sounded more like Danny, if a little … mushier than he was before. "And _then_ he proposed?"

Lindsay laughed. "No. No, but we … we worked things out."

Aiden smiled, pushing herself away from the wall to help her sit Angell up so Lindsay could get the NYPD hoodie onto her thin frame. "Speaking of working things out … how'd you figure out it wasn't me in the morgue?"

"Well, we didn't." Lindsay admitted, carefully reconnecting the IV drip. "Not until after Pratt had been arrested. We couldn't get hold of your father and so a funeral hadn't been arranged. The others decided to go out … have a few drinks … say goodbye …" She trailed off as the memory of another farewell gathering pushed its way to the forefront of her thoughts. Forcing it back, she cleared her throat. "I didn't go with them … felt a bit out of place … so I said I'd catch up with them later, let the people who _knew_ you say goodbye. I ended up in Autopsy, helping Sid finish up a few things. We were chatting, and then he asked me …"

* * *

"_So what made you become a CSI in the first place?"_

_Lindsay froze. She hadn't told anyone in New York about her past and she wasn't sure she could start now._

_Sid must have seen the turmoil on her face. "I was always rather captivated by the way the human body worked myself. If it's a personal reason, Lindsay, I won't be offended if you don't tell me."_

"_I survived a crime." Lindsay told him quietly. "I don't really like talking about it. So far, no one has been convicted of it and I swore I wouldn't let that happen again. So I started looking into ways I could help. CSI seemed … interesting." She smiled humourlessly. "Oddly enough, until that day, I had a crippling fear of blood."_

_She laughed, but she was the only one; Sid was staring at the morgue drawer where Aiden's body was being kept._

"_You know," he said slowly, "Danny is terrified of dentists."_

"_Oh?" Lindsay asked, filing that away for later._

"_I remember one day, he hid in autopsy for three hours, because Aiden had an appointment."_

"_Why would Aiden having an appointment cause him to hide?" Lindsay frowned._

_Sid replaced his glasses and pulled out Aiden's file. "Because she was also not too keen on dentists; she wasn't as bad, but she didn't like it all the same. On this particular day, she was having her wisdom teeth removed and had decided that Danny was going to accompany her … to 'hold her hand' so to speak."_

"_I see…" Lindsay thought for a second. "No offence, but what does this have to do with anything?"_

_Sid pulled out an x-ray and held it up. "Our vic from the car has all four wisdom teeth."_

_Lindsay's eyes widened. "She's not Aiden."_

* * *

"Danny was so relieved when I told him." Lindsay finished. She hesitated, wondering whether to bring up a subject that had … intrigued her, for want of a better word, since she arrived. "I gotta ask … I know there's nothing _now_ and there wasn't when you left, but … did you two ever …?"

Aiden laughed. "Me and Danny?" The laughter died to a smile. "Actually, it's not that strange to think about. We tried it. Once. We'd have been crazy not to. We just clicked, y'know?"

Lindsay nodded, glancing at the unconscious woman between them. She'd seen that 'click' happen herself, but with a different detective – homicide rather than CSI.

"It was like one mind a lot of the time." Aiden sounded almost wistful, but the expression on her face was one of platonic affection, nothing more. "On paper, we were the perfect couple. And I loved him … love him." She corrected. "I knew that. So we went out for dinner, he paid, walked me home, kissed me goodnight …"

"And?" Lindsay prompted.

Aiden smirked. "We both burst out laughing at how _wrong_ it all felt. It was the most awkward date I've ever been on – came to the conclusion that we loved each other dearly, we just weren't _in_ love with each other." She looked thoughtful. "But as excruciating as that evening was, I'm glad it happened. If it hadn't, we'd have forever been in that … 'awkward place'."

"He loves you." Lindsay said softly, her eyes fixed on Jessica's serene face. "I always knew that. And when we had Lucy, we were sat in the hospital, and he told me he wished his brother and sister were here to see it. I was a bit confused – I knew about Louie, but I thought that was it. And then he told me that you were his sister. Blood or no blood."

Aiden straightened the cover on the bed, just for something to do with her hands, before wiping hurriedly at her eyes. "God, look at the two of us. We're acting like two emotional teenagers."

The sombre mood broken, Lindsay giggled and gestured to the living room. "Come on. We'll leave her in peace. With any luck, she'll wake up soon."

* * *

**AN: Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI:NY.**

**Series: Kindred Spirits:**

**Spoilers: Season 5 - Enough, The Box, The Triangle, Green Piece, Greater Good, Pay Up - Season 6 - Epilogue**

* * *

Chapter Three

When her mother's face reappeared over her, Lucy smiled and giggled, drawing smiles from the two women as well.

Lindsay lifted her daughter from the play-mat and settled on the couch, grabbing Lucy's favourite toy – a plush rabbit Jess had given her a few days after she was born – from the side as she did so.

Aiden sat down as well, glancing over her shoulder towards the spare room. "Why Flack?"

Lindsay frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Adam told me that Don and Angell were partners." Aiden clarified. "I get that part. But why was he more likely to get through to her and why are you treading on egg-shells around him?"

"Don was … closer to Jess than the rest of us were." Lindsay answered.

Her voice was vague, but there was a glint in her eye that caused Aiden to lean in, narrowing her eyes. "How close?"

Lindsay smirked. "Intimately."

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Really? Don Flack Jr. – Mr Professional himself – started screwing his partner?"

"Try 'fell head over heels for his partner'." Lindsay corrected.

Aiden frowned. "Really? But … she's not his type. At all. I mean, I'm sure she's lovely, but she's not a …"

"Flack-gal." Lindsay finished with a nod. "I know. But remember that 'clicking' you mentioned when you talked about you and Danny? It was the same thing, but _much _less platonic."

Aiden sat back, letting out a breath. "Wow. How long's she been with NYPD?"

"She joined about three and a half years ago." Lindsay answered. "And she and Don have been partners for just over three."

"Three years?" Aiden repeated.

"The day she was shot." Lindsay confirmed, nodding. "It was more than a year before they were on the same case together though. They just make an amazing team; I wouldn't be surprised if they could read each other's minds. I guess it was only a matter of time before she and Flack hooked up; it was getting unbearable to be in the same room as the two of them"

"How long have they been dating?" Aiden asked.

Lindsay frowned thoughtfully. "Good question. I've known about it for about … seven months, I guess. But they were way too comfortable together for it to be a new thing. I don't know, to be honest. They were very good at hiding it. Had to be."

"Why?" Aiden prompted.

"He was a first grade." Lindsay told her. "She was a third grade. Even back then, rumours were flying about them; their desks faced each other, they used each other as soundboards when they had a particularly difficult case, if one got coffee, they'd get the other person coffee too … all harmless, if they were both guys, but they weren't. I heard the phrase 'sleeping her way up the ranks' more than once. Nearly punched the people saying it."

"She a good detective?" Aiden checked.

"One of the best." Lindsay stated firmly. "She was technically drafted in to cover Don's caseload after the bomb and to replace him if he didn't come back, but she was so good they kept her on anyway. And she's such a sweetheart that the entire precinct was affected when she was …"

"And Don?" Aiden prompted, when Lindsay cut herself off. "How'd he take it?"

Lindsay gave her a small smile, picking up the rabbit when it fell to the floor. "About as well as could be expected. After she flat-lined … the doctor removed the machines – big mistake – and let us in to … to say goodbye …"

* * *

_Everyone waited, wanting to let Don go in first, but he didn't let go of Lindsay's hand from where she'd taken his what felt like hours earlier. So she stood with him, leaving Lucy with her father, and they made their way to the hospital room, where Jess lay, pale and unmoving, as beautiful in death as she had been in life._

_At the door, Don released her hand and she stayed where she was, watching him walk slowly towards the hospital bed._

_When he reached her side, he brushed her hair from her eyes and bent to press a kiss against her cold lips. "I love you, Jess."_

_His words echoed through the silent room and Lindsay covered her mouth with her hand to stop her sobs escaping, even as her shoulders begin to shake._

"_I know I never said it." Don continued. "And I should have done. But I do. And I'll never stop. You hear me, Jess? I will never stop loving you."_

_Seeing tears start to fall from his eyes, Lindsay let her own fall and knelt beside him, pulling him into a hug._

"_Why her, Linds?" Don asked quietly. "Why did they have to take her? She wasn't even supposed to be there; she's supposed to be in Jersey with her family. Why?"_

_Lindsay didn't answer, knowing that he wasn't expecting one._

_His eyes never left his girlfriend's face. "I need her. I don't think I can do this without her."_

"_Don." Danny said quietly from the doorway. "We've got a location on the kidnappers."_

_Don's face set. He released Lindsay and kissed Jess's forehead. "I'm going to get the son-of-a-bitch who did this to you, Jess."_

"_Flack!" Lindsay reached out and caught his arm as he stood. "Try not to do anything stupid, alright? She wouldn't want you to."_

"_You'll stay with her, won't you, Lindsay?" Don asked, clearly avoiding the subject. "I don't want her to be alone."_

_Lindsay smiled softly. "I'll stay with her until Sid comes. I promise. Danny, I'll take Lucy." She stood to take the baby, lowering her voice a little. "Keep an eye on him."_

"_You got it, Montana." Danny kissed her forehead and she sat down again, her legs feeling like lead and yet refusing to support her._

_Wide awake and alert, Lucy moved her head so she was looking at Jess. She was starting to recognise people now, aside from her parents, and her unofficial godmother was one of her favourites. With a toothless smile, she reached out and grasped Jess's finger tightly, only to look slightly bemused when the woman didn't move._

_Lindsay choked back another flood of tears. "Oh, Lucy … Auntie Jess isn't going to wake up, sweetie."_

_Don followed Danny out of the room, but stopped in the doorway, turning back to gaze at his fallen partner. "Goodbye, Jessica …"_

* * *

Lindsay sniffed, wiping her eyes. "All six were killed resisting arrest. Well, actually, Jess took one out at the scene, and the other five were killed resisting arrest."

"She was shot by six people?" Aiden asked in stunned disbelief.

Lindsay shook her head. "No, it was a kidnapping gone wrong. Only one actually shot her, but one of her shots went wide at the scene."

"So the guy who supposedly killed her …?" Aiden prompted.

"Simon Cade." Lindsay filled in. "Yeah, he was killed."

"By who?" Aiden asked.

Lindsay hesitated, seeing the understanding in the other woman's eyes. "Flack."

"He shouldn't have been there." Aiden murmured. "No one's gonna buy that he was resisting."

"Yeah, especially since Jess put two through his shoulder before she went down." Lindsay added.

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Why was he there?"

"Couldn't stop him." Lindsay shrugged. "You know how protective Don is of his family. Now take into account that he's crazy for her."

"You should have sat on him." Aiden told her mock-sternly, before turning serious again. "IA aren't …?"

"I haven't heard anything." Lindsay admitted. "But Simon Cade didn't have any family. No one even claimed him from the morgue … if IA are just biding their time and pop up in a year pointing fingers, I won't be surprised. They won't do anything just yet."

"How can you be so sure?" Aiden asked.

Lindsay smiled slightly. "Because the guy who was kidnapped was the son of Robert Dunbrook and just happened to be testifying against him that day. In an attempt to convince everyone he had nothing to do with it, Dunbrook made Jess's death front page news."

"Cop deaths _never_ make front page." Aiden frowned. "Big impact?"

Lindsay nodded. "Oh yeah. People were angry and I mean _really_ angry about what happened. If it got out that NYPD Internal Affairs wanted to press charges because her murderer – or attempted murderer – was killed resisting arrest, there'd be a riot. I'll be surprised if Sinclair doesn't try to make Jess into NYPD's Poster Girl."

"You think she'd go for that?" Aiden asked sceptically. She didn't know Jess, but if Don liked her – _loved _her – that much, there was no way she played politics – he was as much a sucker for a pretty face as any other straight guy, but he still needed a lot more below the surface in order to form a deeper attachment.

Lindsay smirked. "I did say 'try'."

Aiden chuckled. "So that's what restarted her heart? What he said in the hospital room?"

"Maybe." Lindsay conceded. "Or maybe we just got a miracle. It's nearing Christmas after all."

Aiden nodded, taking the second idea about as seriously as Lindsay had meant it. Both women were scientists, after all, and the concept of a 'miracle' had yet to be proven in a lab.

Either way, Jessica Angell had been incredibly lucky.

For a few seconds, they sat in quiet reflection, until Lucy, who had clearly picked up on the sombre mood, threw her rabbit on the floor again.

This time, it was Aiden who picked it up. "So you and Danny …"

Lindsay smiled. "Right. We got back together, starting mending bridges and then … a couple of months later, I realised I was pregnant."

"Wow …" Aiden murmured. "What did you do?"

"Panicked." Lindsay admitted sheepishly. "Danny and I were alright … but we were still a bit shaky and … things hadn't really been the same … I went to an OB and had it confirmed … Of course, Danny realised soon enough that something was going on. Apparently, our victim had a doctor's card on her and he saw me at the clinic when he and Stel went to talk to her. He confronted me in the locker room later and I told him."

"What did he say?" Aiden asked.

"Are you sure?" Lindsay quoted with a laugh. "I told him that I wasn't expecting anything from him and dived into the case before he could argue."

"Jumped before you were pushed." Aiden concluded with a soft smile. "I take it he didn't agree?"

Lindsay shook her head, her smile growing. "I got home that evening to find him waiting outside, insisting we needed to talk …"

* * *

_Lindsay sighed, reluctant to hear it vocalised. "Fine. Come in." She shut the door quietly behind them and made her way over to the kitchen, pulling out the takeaway menu she kept in the drawer._

"_What are you doing?" Danny asked._

"_Ordering take-out." Lindsay answered bluntly. "What else?"_

"_Not in your condition, you're not." Danny stated, leading her over to the couch. "Do you realise how bad that stuff is for babies? You sit down; I'll make us dinner."_

_Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Danny, I've already told you; I'm not expecting anything…"_

"_Thing is, Montana, you are." Danny disagreed. "You're expecting a baby. My baby. And you're expecting me to walk away from our kid. You know I love you, Lindsay, I tell you daily. Why do you doubt me all of a sudden?"_

"_I don't doubt you love me." Lindsay insisted. "I just … I wasn't planning this, Danny. I wasn't planning on becoming a mother, not now, and I know you weren't planning on becoming a father."_

"_I wasn't planning on becoming a CSI either, Montana." Danny reminded her. "I wasn't planning on falling in love. But I did both of those things and they turned out to be the best things I've ever done." He took her hands. "Maybe we weren't planning on having a baby, but we are now. And I'm not gonna lie to you, Montana; I'm scared. But I'm not going anywhere."_

* * *

Aiden smiled. "Good. If he'd reacted any other way, I'd have had to hurt him. Now tell me he asked you to marry him, or I might have to anyway."

"He did." Lindsay nodded. "And I said no."

"You …" Aiden glanced around the room. Sure enough, there was no wedding photo, but Lindsay had definitely introduced herself as Messer, and Sid had called her Mrs Messer earlier … "What?"

"I said no." Lindsay repeated.

"Why?" Aiden was utterly confused now. Everything Lindsay had said pointed to her adoring Danny, so why would she …?"

"Because I wanted him to marry me because he loves me, not because I was pregnant." Lindsay answered heavily.

"Oh." That made sense. "That wasn't the only reason. I know Danny; he wouldn't …"

"I know." Lindsay said with a smile. "I know he loves me and I knew it then. But it didn't change the fact that we weren't ready to get married at that moment in time." She bounced Lucy slightly, causing the child to giggle. "He was amazing though. Talked to my stomach every day, read the baby comics … Although he was convinced we'd have a boy. When I was about seven months along, I decided to go home … visit my parents so my mom could see me pregnant." She laughed. "I told Danny I was really looking forward to that if we had a girl. He said, "if we have a girl, no guy's getting close enough to her to get her pregnant.""

Aiden laughed. She could almost hear Danny saying that. "Good trip?"

"Yeah, it was great." Lindsay paused for a second in reflection. "Although I got so bored … and I felt like a whale. But before I left, Danny took me into town, said we were meeting a couple of friends. We ended up at City Hall, outside the registry office. And he said to me …"

* * *

"_I am tired of being afraid, alright? You and me? We make sense, okay? You're everything I've always wanted. I wanna be with you. And I can be the guy that you want me to be. I know I can; I am that guy."_

_Lindsay smiled shakily. "You know you are."_

"_Then let's walk through that door together. Let's do it; let's take that leap."_

* * *

"And you did." Aiden concluded with a grin. "Did you have Lucy here or in Montana?"

"Here." Lindsay answered, chuckling. "Landed at JFK, got a cab to the crime lab and went into labour. Adam ended up driving me to the hospital. Poor guy looked terrified."

Aiden laughed as well. "Danny or Adam?"

"Both." Lindsay admitted. "We ended up asking Mac to be godfather …"

"Good choice." Aiden remarked.

Lindsay nodded. "And Jess is her unofficial godmother – there's nothing on paper, because …"

"Your friends?" Aiden guessed when Lindsay trailed off.

Lindsay nodded, closing her eyes, feeling Aiden squeeze her hand gently. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Aiden smirked suddenly. "So what's Daddy Danny like? I've only ever seen Big Brother, and it's a bit of a leap."

"He's amazing." Lindsay smiled fondly. "She's a total Daddy's Girl and Danny just dotes on her. Took her to the park every other day."

The use of past tense immediately caught Aiden's attention, as did the wistful tone in Lindsay's voice. "What happened?"

Lindsay sighed. "It was about a month ago, after the shooting. Obviously the funeral hadn't happened yet, but we all went out to … say goodbye …" Her voice choked to a halt, tears springing to her eyes.

Aiden's heart dropped to her stomach and she pushed away the slightly selfish voice that said that she didn't want to know what happened. "And?"

"And …" Lindsay held Lucy close to her chest. "And …"

* * *

"_Okay, I'll try not to cause that many tears." Stella stood up. "Would you all raise your glasses? Jessica Angell was one of those rare people who touched each of our lives, who reaffirmed your faith in humanity. She was a great homicide detective and a wonderful friend, always there and willing to do whatever it took to see that justice was served."_

_Lindsay glanced towards Flack, who was avoiding everyone's gaze, and reached over to squeeze his hand. He didn't look at her, but squeezed back in silent thanks._

"_And I know…" Stella's voice choked to a halt and she swallowed hard. "I know that Jess is watching over us and will protect us, just as she always has done."_

_Before anything else could be said, the windows shattered inwards with a round of bullets and screams erupted around them._

_Danny seized her and forced her to the floor, landing heavily on top of her. Lindsay closed her eyes tightly and focused on thinking about her daughter in an attempt to stay calm_

_Finally, the bullets stopped and silence fell upon the bar as reality sank in. Then the cries started; people calling for friends and family, casualties calling for help._

_Danny rolled to the side, allowing Lindsay to sit up; she flinched as small shards of glass cut into her hands._

"_I can't feel my legs." Danny murmured._

_Lindsay focused on her husband. "Danny?"_

"_Lindsay, I can't move." Danny lifted his hand and they both saw that it was drenched in his blood. "I can't feel my legs."_

"_No…" Lindsay caught his hand and cupped his face. "Baby, you're okay. You're gonna be fine."_

_Danny met her eyes and she could see the barely veiled fear in them. "Linds, I can't feel my legs."_

"_Mac!" Lindsay called over her shoulder. "You're alright, Danny; just think about Lucy. Just keep focusing on Lucy. Mac!"_

* * *

Lindsay's voice, which had gotten stronger in her retelling of that night's events, shook and died. "He's been in a wheelchair ever since."

"Tell me you got them." Aiden stated through gritted teeth.

Lindsay smiled weakly. "Yeah, we got 'em. Just a bunch of kids who figured they could hold the city hostage."

"And Danny?" Aiden prompted. "Everyone else was …"

"He was the only serious casualty." Lindsay assured her. "And it's getting better … he's started regaining feeling in his legs and he can move his toes now. Doctors say there's a ten per cent chance of a full recovery."

Aiden cursed under her breath. "That little?"

"He told me it was sixty." Lindsay told her with a small laugh. "Said he didn't want to worry me."

"Yeah, Danny's like that." Aiden moved to wrap an arm around Lindsay's shoulders.

"I've told him he's got to be more optimistic." Lindsay said quietly, leaning into her embrace almost subconsciously, seeking comfort. "Or I'll kick his butt."

"I'll help you." Aiden promised. "He'll pull through. I mean, he's Danny."

"I know, right?" Lindsay agreed. "He's too stubborn to do anything else." She reached out with her spare arm and grabbed the phone as it started to ring. "Messer residence."

"_Lindsay, it's Mac. Adam said he ran into Aiden at your place – she still there?"_

Lindsay glanced at her. "Er, year. You wanna talk to her?"

"_Please."_

"Alright." Lindsay handed the phone to Aiden as Lucy began fussing. "Mac. Wants to talk to you. And this little one needs changing; excuse me." She didn't wait for a response, taking Lucy into the nursery before she could start crying.

Although she chatted to Lucy as she changed her, Lindsay's mind was in the living room. She could think of several reasons why Mac would want to talk to Aiden, but none that he would have to do it in this way. _Must be important._

"Guess what?" Aiden announced from the doorway.

Lindsay pulled Lucy's dress back down and glanced up, seeing the bright smile on Aiden's face. "Pass."

"Mac just offered me a job!" Aiden told her, practically bouncing with excitement.

"Wow!" Lindsay was taken aback – that had been the last thing she'd expected. "Congratulations!" She pushed the changing table away, balancing Lucy on one hip. "I wonder how he pulled that. At the beginning of the year, we had to fight to save Adam's job because of budget cuts."

"Apparently NYPD just got a boatload of extra funding." Aiden explained, still grinning. "He wants me to come in so he can tell the team. I guess he doesn't know about Angell yet."

"I guess not." Lindsay shrugged. "Alright, well, you head in; I'm gonna contact Jess's family and let them know she's safe."

* * *

In the crime lab, Danny Messer was in Mac Taylor's office, waiting patiently to meet the new CSI joining the team.

At least, that was where he was supposed to be.

In actual fact, he was in his own office, finishing up an evidence log, grumbling under his breath.

"Danny?" Stella stuck her head through the door. "What are you doing here? Mac paged us all to his office."

"Yeah, so we can meet the 'new girl'." Danny snorted. "No thanks."

Stella sighed. "Come on, Danny; you're being ridiculous. I don't remember you being this obstinate when Lindsay joined us."

"That's because Lindsay was just taking my best friend's job." Danny muttered. "I refuse to stand there and meet the woman who's taking my wife's job."

Stella resisted the urge to make a quip about Danny 'standing' to do anything, but she wasn't sure whether he'd take it in the nature she intended. Instead, she settled for rolling her eyes. "She's not taking Lindsay's job, Danny; she's just a new CSI, an extra pair of hands."

"Besides," a familiar female voice stated from behind her, "even if I did take her job, it would only be fair. She did take mine, after all."

Stella spun on her heel to see Aiden walking towards them, a bright smile on her face and no visitor badge attached to her belt. "Aiden!"

Aiden accepted her hug with a laugh. "Hey Stel! I know Mac wants us in his office, but I know Messer too well." She glanced over at Danny, who was still staring at her in shock. "Don't get up."

Stella winced – Danny's attitude had improved greatly since he retained movement in his feet, but it was still a bad idea to joke about his predicament.

To her surprise, though, Danny chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, Burn; I won't be here for long." He carefully manoeuvred his chair out from under his desk and over to her. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Chasing shadows." Aiden leant down to embrace him. "Apparently DJ Pratt's in jail."

"There's a name I haven't heard in a while." Danny commented. "We thought …"

"I know." Aiden cut him off. "I just spent the morning with your wife. Lucy, by the way, is adorable."

"Yeah she is." Danny agreed proudly.

"Since when are you a baby person?" Stella asked as the three made their way towards Mac's office.

Aiden shrugged. "I'm still not. But I can make an exception for Lucy – mind if I kidnap her?"

Danny chuckled. "Alright, but she wakes up screaming every two hours."

Stella raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you didn't shoot her."

"She was joking." Danny said, shrugging his shoulders with difficulty as he tried to steer the chair at the same time.

"When Blake said that, you nearly ripped his head off." Stella reminded him.

"That is because I am the only man in Lucy's life." Danny said smugly.

"What about Mac?" Stella asked. "He's Lucy's godmother."

"That is because Mac and I are the only men in Lucy's life." Danny amended.

"And Don?" Stella smirked. "He adores her."

"That is because Mac, Donnie and I are the only men in Lucy's life."

"And Adam?" Stella was openly grinning now. "Because he's her favourite."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you're a real wise-guy, aren't ya?" He cleared his throat. "What, exactly, did Lindsay tell you?"

Aiden gave him a stern look. "Enough that I gotta bone to pick with you later."

"I thought so." Danny sighed. "Can you at least wait until I'm outta this chair?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Aiden smirked, pushing open the door to Mac's office.

"Look, I know you're not happy, but the budget's been increased and Sinclair insists we hire another CSI." Mac was saying. "I promise you that I've done everything in my power to make the transition as smooth as possible."

"But we've always run on this team, Mac." Hawkes reminded him in a low voice. "Even when Aiden left, we kept the balance."

"You know it's rude to talk about people behind their backs." Aiden remarked.

Like Stella, Hawkes spun around at the sound of her voice. He gawked at her for a few seconds before embracing her tightly. "Aiden!" He released her and turned to Mac accusingly. "This is the new CSI?"

"I never said we had a _new_ CSI." Mac told him with a barely discernible smirk. "Just another one."

Aiden smiled and held out her hand. "Mac."

Mac observed the hand for a few seconds, before rounding the desk and pulling her into a hug. "It's good to have you back, Aiden."

Aiden smiled brightly as she looked around the lab. "Thanks, Mac. It's good to be back."

* * *

**AN: So who watched that season finale? We actually got a Flangell moment – I think I may have squee'd when I saw it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the wait, ladies and gents. Got a little distracted with RL and other stories.**

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.  
Series: Kindred Spirits.  
Spoilers: Season 5 - _Communication Breakdown. _Minor Season 2 - Charge of this Post.**

Chapter Four

It took less than half an hour after her phone call for the knocking to start. Unlike the last time, Lindsay knew exactly who was outside.

"Mr and Mrs Angell, thank you for coming. Please come in."

The month before, at the hospital, Jess's father had told them all to call him Cliff, or Mr Angell if that felt too awkward, citing 'Retired Detective-Sergeant Angell' as too much of a mouthful to be used on a regular basis.

It was a moment of levity in an otherwise awful day, but Lindsay still couldn't bring herself to call him by his first name.

"Well, when you told us it was about Jessica, we couldn't wait." Marie Angell's eyes found the child in Lindsay's arms. "And how's Lucy?"

"She's fine, thanks." Lindsay closed the door behind them. "Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee?"

"No thank you." Cliff declined politely. "What's this about, Detective? Is this about the autopsy? Why didn't the ME call us in to the morgue?"

Lindsay sighed. "It's a little more complicated than that, sir. When Dr Hammerback made to begin, he made several preliminary observations that negated the need for an autopsy. And, yes, I'm aware that you requested one, but … Well, you might want to sit down."

Marie took a seat on the couch, staring at her. "What could possibly be worse than losing our only daughter?"

Lindsay smiled at her. "I didn't say it was worse. I just said you might want to sit down." She took a deep breath. "Jessica's alive."

Silence filled the room as Cliff sunk down into the seat next to his wife. "But … she … what …?"

Lindsay smiled gently, seeing the emotion in their eyes coupled with the reluctance to get their hopes up. Slowly, she explained what had happened that morning in the morgue, watching their eyes fill with hope.

"Where …?" Cliff cleared his throat gruffly. "Where is she now?"

"In the spare room." Lindsay answered, casting a glance towards the closed door. "I thought about a hospital, but Dr Hammerback said that there's nothing they can do that we can't, and Jess hates hospitals so much, and they always seem to treat coma patients like part of the furniture and …"

"Lindsay!" Marie interrupted. "We agree with you. Can we see her?"

"Oh, yeah, of course." Lindsay hurried to the spare room and opened the door, before stepping back to let the couple pass her.

Cliff stopped just inside the doorway, rooted to the spot, as Marie hurried to her daughter's side.

"You dressed her." She observed quietly, stroking Jess's hair.

Lindsay shrugged. "Jess hates hospital gowns. And I couldn't leave her in a sheet."

Marie pressed her fingers against Jess's wrist, needing to feel the reassuring thumps of life being pumped through her daughter's body. "Oh God … Cliff, she's right … Jessie's alive …"

Now Cliff moved as well, stumbling over to her to feel her pulse for himself, before kissing her forehead, his hands trembling.

Lindsay took Lucy into the kitchen, partly to give the couple some privacy, partly to hide the tears in her own eyes. She sat down next to the kitchen table, taking another deep breath to calm herself.

Lucy put a hand on her face, looking slightly puzzled, and she smiled shakily. "Listen closely, Lucy Messer," she said sternly. "You're not allowed to grow up, and you're not allowed to leave me. Alright?"

"Alive?" Mac repeated incredulously.

"That's right." Sid confirmed. "Comatose, but very much alive."

Mac looked at Aiden. "Lindsay tell you?"

"I looked after Lucy while she came in." Aiden answered. "She should be telling Detective Angell's parents right about now."

Danny shook his head. "And she's in our spare room?"

Aiden sighed. "Yes, Danny. For the fourth time, she's in your spare room. It doesn't matter how many times you ask me, the answer's not going to change."

The silence that followed was broken only by Mac's phone ringing. "Taylor. Right." He hung up and reached into his desk drawer, pulling out a badge and gun. "Sorry to throw you back in the deep end, Aiden, but there's a DOA in Time Square. Adam's going with you."

"Mac …" Danny began.

"No, Danny." Mac cut him off. "I know they're insisting we're not getting snow this year, but it's in the air, and we need to process as quickly as possible. I'm sorry."

Aiden patted his shoulder as she left, fastening her new badge to her belt and slipping the gun into her empty holster. "Sorry partner." She made her way down to Trace, the familiar route popping into her head as though she'd never been away.

As she entered, every head turned to look at her, some unfamiliar and curious, others lighting up in remembrance. But there was no sign of the face she was looking for.

"Hey Adam!"

"Yeah!" His head appeared over a row of computers.

"Grab your kit." Aiden told him. "We got a DOA."

"Anything I need to know before I get there?" Adam asked as they approached the crime scene.

Aiden glanced across at her companion. "Like what?"

Adam shrugged. "Anything, really. I mean, Lindsay prefers me to stay quiet when she's figuring stuff out, but Danny would rather talk it through with me. Mac doesn't really like me disagreeing with him unless I've got the evidence to back it up, but Stella likes the challenge. I'm … y'know … I'm just here to process."

Aiden smiled at him, recognising the shy stutter in his voice from the beginning of her own career as a CSI. Of course, she had Danny busting her balls at the same time. "You're here as a CSI, Adam. A badge doesn't change that, nor does the lack of one. You have a theory, you tell me, no matter what I might have said. Yeah, I might not agree, but that doesn't make you wrong. Oh, and don't stare at my ass while I'm processing. Happens way too often, and it's disrespectful. To me _and_ the victim."

Adam nodded hastily. "You got it. But … uh … I don't do things like that, ma'am."

"Then we should get along fine." Aiden concluded with a smile. "And it's Aiden. Mac doesn't like 'sir'; I don't like 'ma'am'. Got it?"

Adam nodded again. "Got it."

"So how long have you worked at the crime lab?" Aiden asked curiously, pulling up at the crime scene.

"I joined about the same time as Lindsay." Adam answered, grabbing the kit from the back of the car. "So I've been … Flack?"

"Excuse me?" Aiden followed his gaze, recognising the dark hair and build of the detective talking to witnesses. "Lindsay said he was on compassionate leave."

"He is – he was." Adam shrugged. "Guess he bounced back."

"That's the Flack I know." Aiden ducked under the crime scene tape, thanking the officer who lifted it for her.

"Thanks Wilson." Adam added as they passed her. "Oh, and when you've got a moment, drop into the morgue and tell Dr Hammerback that you can keep a secret."

The officer looked confused, but nodded. "Okay."

"What was that about?" Aiden muttered.

"She was practically Angell's protégé." Adam explained in an undertone. "She was hit as hard as we were."

"And we're still not telling Don." Aiden concluded wearily.

"Not _that_ hard." Adam raised his voice. "Hey, Flack! Look who's here!"

Don looked up and his face broke into a smile, even though it didn't completely reach his eyes. "Aiden Burn! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?!"

Aiden set her kit down and hugged him tightly. "Yeah, well, I was getting bored without you lot."

"Hey, this is a crime scene!" Another voice barked. "Civilians aren't allowed in!"

Don rolled his eyes. "Guys, this is Detective Johnson, just transferred over from Connecticut. Johnson, this is Detective Burn and Adam Ross with Crime Scene – they're here to process the scene. They look like tourists to you?"

Johnson turned out to be a man slightly older than Flack, who ran a critical eye over the two, lingering on Aiden for slightly longer than she was comfortable with. "Alright, but make it quick."

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "How long have you been working homicides, Detective?"

"Just moved over." He answered stiffly.

"I thought so." Aiden pulled her gloves on. "It is our observations and findings that will nail the guy that did this. Therefore, _we_ will take as long as we need. _You_ will secure the perimeter and stop staring at me like I'm a piece of meat. Got it?"

"You heard the lady, Johnson." Don said. "And, for the record, I'm still the higher officer here. Let them do their jobs."

"Yes sir."

"Thanks, Flack." Aiden gestured to the body. "Do we know who this is?"

"So far, he's still a John Doe." Don answered. "Anonymous 911 call, but that don't mean much. A lot of people come to Time Square because they can blend into the crowd. No wallet, no ID."

"Maybe he's one of them." Aiden suggested, photographing the body. "Or it could have been a robbery. You find anything, Adam?"

"Looks like the vic bled out." Adam bagged a swab and squinted up. "Where'd you get the gun, Flack? I thought Lindsay took both of yours."

"She did." Don shrugged. "I got another back-up."

"She's gonna kill you." Adam stated matter-of-factly. "The blood's too spread out to be from one wound – I don't think it was a robbery, Aiden."

Aiden knelt beside him and they rolled the victim over. "Whoa …" She pulled a face at the multiple wounds in the man's chest. "No, definitely not. This was personal." She glanced up at Flack and groaned at the expression on his face. "You know him. Don't you."

"Not personally, but I've seen him before." Don answered quietly. "He's a member of a hurling team that plays over in what used to be Montiquan tribal ground."

"Amos Delaware." Adam nodded. "It was a case about six months ago or so." He explained to Aiden when she gave him a questioning look. "Native American hit by a stray bullet from outside a speeding train, only for us to discover that he was already dead when the bullet hit him."

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "LeBron James couldn't make that shot."

Don chuckled weakly. "That's what Danny said. I missed that."

Aiden straightened up and smiled at him. "Yeah, me too."

The silver sedan pulled into the parking lot next to the playing field and came to a stop, causing both teams to stop playing and look over at them.

"You alright, Flack?" Aiden asked quietly.

Don's hands tightened momentarily on the steering wheel, then relaxed. "Yeah, I'm fine. C'mon."

Aiden grabbed the photograph of the victim and got out of the car, only to come face to face with one of the players.

"You're interruptin' a game." He told them, his Irish accent adding to the aggression in his voice. "Again." He added, glancing at Flack.

To Aiden's surprise, Don didn't comment on his attitude. "Duty calls, Wexford."

Wexford cast an eye over Aiden, though not in the way Johnson had earlier. "New partner, Detective?"

And then, just like that, Aiden knew what was bothering Flack. Last time he was here, it was Jessica Angell in the passenger seat.

"This is Detective Burn with Crime Scene." Don said, ignoring the question. "We just need to talk to you."

Aiden held up the photo. "Do you know this man? Detective Flack said he recognised him from the last time he was here."

Wexford paled, taking an automatic step backwards. "Yeah … that's … that's Kevin. My brother. What … What happened to him?"

Aiden sighed, This was her least favourite part of the job, without a doubt. "I'm afraid your brother was found murdered this morning, Mr Wexford."

"Games over, lads." Wexford stated, not taking his eyes off the two detectives.

Without complaint, the teams dispersed, several members clapping him on the back as they passed. Aiden waited until they were out of earshot, before asking, "Your brother was a member of the team?"

"Yeah, he was late this morning, so we started without him." Wexford answered.

Anyone else might have thought that he seemed very calm about his brother's death, but both detectives could hear the tell-tale waver in his voice.

Aiden had given out news like this more than a hundred times, and no one ever responded in the same way as someone else.

She had seen people burst into tears, people who blamed everything from the weather to Aiden herself, people who greeted the news with mild indifference, people who sank into denial, people who promptly threatened revenge against the people responsible, and, most memorably, one man who had thrown himself through a glass wall to reach his wife in autopsy.

Okay, Danny had handled the last one, but it was her case too.

"When was the last time you saw your brother?" Don asked.

"Last night … around ten, I guess … I turned in early because of practice this morning … he said he'd stay up …"

"You live together?" Aiden guessed, receiving a nod. "Did he say if he was going out at all?"

"Yeah, he said he was meeting someone." Wexford shrugged. "Don't know who."

"Was he seeing anyone?" Aiden pressed.

"Yeah, Mandy something. I don't know her last name." Wexford frowned. "Blonde hair, nice legs. She gave him a lift to practice once."

"You see the car?" Don asked immediately.

"Red. Merc, I think."

"Licence plate?" Don prompted.

"I think there was a 7. I dunno, I don't tend to check licence numbers." Wexford responded shortly.

Aiden didn't call him out on his attitude. "Do you remember anything else about her or the car?"

"No. Sorry." Wexford shifted his gaze from Flack back to her. "You think she was involved?"

"We can't tell right now." Aiden said carefully. "But finding out who your brother was with before his death could help us find out what happened to him. Did he visit Time Square often?"

"No." Wexford shook his head looking perplexed. "He hates … hated it there. Too many crowds, he said."

"That was where he was found." Aiden told him gently. "Could he have been meeting someone?"

"I don't know. Listen, I need to get hold of my folks. Tell them what happened. Can I go?"

"Sure." Don turned to Aiden as the kid headed off. "What do you think?"

"Kid lost his brother and didn't want to break down in front of two cops." Aiden stated. "Understandable really. He doesn't know anything."

"Glad we're on the same page." Don said. "Back to the drawing board, I guess."

Aiden sighed. "Don, are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"You're lying through your teeth." Aiden disagreed. "Talk to me."

Don leaned against the car, gazing at the warehouse on the other side of the field. "She spoke fluent French."

Aiden frowned. "Who? Angell?"

Don nodded, a fond smile appearing on his face. "We'd been dating for six months before she told me that."

Aiden decided not to comment on the earlier unlikelihood of one of his relationships lasting longer than six weeks, let alone six months. "You really cared about her."

"She was my everything, Aiden." Don whispered, closing his eyes as pain crossed his face. "And it all disappeared in a few hours. But she's still here and in the worst possible way. I came back to work to take my mind off of her, because she's everywhere in my apartment. But it's even worse at the precinct. Her desk's empty. When I'm doing paperwork, I can still hear her laugh … smell her hair … and then I look up and she's not there. And I know she's never coming back …"

Aiden didn't say anything, resting a hand on his shoulder. Guilt raged within her and she opened her mouth, fully intending on telling him that Jessica was safe in Lindsay's spare room, but her phone rang before she had the chance. Heaving a heavy sigh, she answered it automatically. "Burn."

_"Aiden, it's Adam. Lindsay just called."_

The sky was beginning to darken, and Lindsay could see through the kitchen window that it was greyer than usual. A smile crossed her face. Maybe the weather reports were wrong and they'd have a white Christmas this year after all.

Jess's parents had left after an hour, thanking her profusely for looking after their daughter and asking her to call if anything changed. Of course, she had agreed and gone back to her day off, although now in a much better mood than when it started.

Lucy had long since fallen asleep and Lindsay returned her to the nursery, before settling down on the couch with a good book; something she hadn't done for a long time, but was undeniably enjoyable as the wind howled outside her window. She didn't know how long it was, but the apartment suddenly seemed very dark, and it was that which led Lindsay to glance out of the window and wonder about snow.

Grabbing her cell phone from the side table, she glanced at the screen before answering, her smile widening. "Hey babe."

_"Hey, beautiful."_ Danny greeted. _"How's Jess?"_

"Still out." Lindsay's eyes wandered to the door of the spare room. "Sorry I didn't call and tell you myself."

_"Don't worry about it, Montana."_ Danny assured her. _"Er … Aiden said she'd met you …"_

Lindsay couldn't help smiling at the feigned casualness in his voice. "Yeah, we had a nice chat."

_"About what?"_ Danny prompted, sounding worried.

"Life, the universe and everything." Lindsay said with a smirk.

_"42." _Danny responded promptly. _"Seriously, Linds; what did you tell her?"_

"Everything." Lindsay answered, all humour evaporating from her voice. "She'd have found out sooner or later."

_"Yeah, I know."_ Danny groaned. _"I was just hoping it'd be later, rather than sooner."_

"Look at the bright side." Lindsay suggested. "You don't have to tell her. And you've got to get out of that chair now; you need to be able to run!"

"_Ha-ha. Very funny, Montana." _His tone was flat, but she recognised the underlying humour in his voice.

"Did you seriously just phone to find out how likely it is that Aiden's gonna kill you?" Lindsay answered with a giggle.

"_No." _All humour in Danny's voice evaporated. _"This whole thing's made me realise how lucky I am. I'm not gonna be home for another couple hours, because another case has come in, but I just wanted to phone to say I love you."_

Lindsay smiled, slightly tearfully. "I love you too, Danny." She knew how much Don's predicament had shaken him and they had had several conversations like this over the past month, although never over the phone.

_"I'd better go. Adam just got back with a bagful of evidence from Time Square. Apparently Aiden's chasing up an ID on the guy."_

"They threw her back in the deep end." Lindsay commented. "Let's hope she still remembers how to swim. Alright, hun, I'll see you later. Love you."

_"Love you too."_

Lindsay heard the dial-tone, and ended the call, dropping the phone back on the side. She was just about to go back to her book, when a soft noise alerted her to the other room. She smiled, standing up and stretching as her muscles protested the movement. "Alright, sweetheart, Mommy's coming."

Stepping into her daughter's bedroom, she turned the lights up, only to see Lucy fast asleep in her crib.

Lindsay frowned. She knew the difference between someone sighing in their sleep and someone starting to wake up. But Lucy looked just as out of it as she had when she'd been put down for a nap.

Maybe she had imagined it … But then she heard it again, a soft sigh that echoed around the silent apartment, and it definitely didn't come from her daughter.

Quickly, Lindsay left the nursery and opened the door to the spare room. She _must_ have imagined it – there was no way Jess was waking up now, just hours after they had realised that she was alright.

If that was true, after all, she could easily have awoken in the autopsy drawer – which Lindsay wasn't sure if she found horrifying or amusing.

Jess's first autopsy (and last – she had observed one examination as part of the requirements and never gone back) had been punctuated by one of the medical students lying under a sheet and moaning, which had nearly given the fledgling detective a heart attack, and Lindsay knew that the other woman would find the irony funny (after the initial terror of waking up in the morgue, of course).

Like Lucy, there was no sign that Jess was the one who had made the noise – she was lying perfectly still, her face serene.

Lindsay sat down wearily on the edge of the mattress, dimly wondering if bringing Lucy in when she was awake would have any effect. Jess adored the little girl almost as much as Lindsay did.

At that moment, there was another sigh, and Lindsay's breath caught. There was no way she had imagined this one – Jess's chest had definitely moved.

Leaning forward, Lindsay took her hand, squeezing softly. "Jess? Sweetie, can you hear me? If you can hear me, squeeze my hand."  
In the back of her mind, Lindsay couldn't help remembering being in exactly the same situation over three years ago, just before Jess had arrived at the precinct, but that time she had been in a hospital room, and it was Don lying lifeless before her.

"I've been here before, Jess." Lindsay said softly. "And Don recovered … so you have to as well." She thought she felt something around her hand, but it was so slight she couldn't be sure she hadn't imagined it. "You can hear me, Jess. Come on, give me some sort of sign that you can hear me."

There was no doubt about it this time. Jess's fingers closed around hers and squeezed softly.

Lindsay stiffened, staring at her face. "Jess?" She held her breath and watched, as Jess's eyes slowly flickered open.


End file.
